NOCT2 S1: Kenton VS Cecilia

A boulder shattered into pieces, Kenton's Ambipom deftly flying off among the shards or stone in a graceful tumble as the Skiddo careened straight through where the large boulder had existed a split second beforehand.

Kenton let out a short string of expletives as he watched Ambipom flip and alight on one of the nearby rocks.  He had underestimated the Skiddo, which had now Bulked Up to the point that even a direct hit from Ambipom didn't seem to do a lot of damage, while on the slip side it was shattered boulders like glass.  In fact, it was less a "rocky landscape" now and instead a "pebble landscape" with a few mid-size boulders left.

Well, maybe its hooves with start slipping more on the loose gravel it's leaving behind, Astonish might actually work this time he hoped, still trying to wrap his mind around how to handle the situation.

He was also a bit distracted simply by his opponent's composure itself.  In a coincidental twist, he was once again facing a young teenage girl on the rocky landscape - this time, a thirteen-year-old by the name of Cecilia, if he recalled correctly.  What was garnering his attention at the moment was her silence - or, rather, near-silence.  She would yell out something every once in a while, but it always sounded like... well, like she wasn't used to using her own voice.  And she was mostly silent, her Skiddo (he didn't even know yet if the Skiddo had a name) seemingly battling on its own.  The girl's silence and almost inhuman voice was certainly creeping Kenton out...

...but he didn't have time to get distracted by that right now!

Ambipom's current perch shattered as well, another Zen Headbutt changing the overall layout of the battlefield once again.  Kenton shook his head and yelled "You gotta be quick with getting your Gunk Shots off, Ambipom!"

Pellets of sludge and garbage materialized between Ambipom's tail-hands and shot forward at high-speed toward the Skiddo, which flinched slighted as the materials splatted and ricocheted off its face, neck, and back - but didn't seem to be that harmed otherwise.  It shook slightly, dispelling any remaining bits of purpple sludge from its leafy mane, which continued to rustle as vines suddenly sprouted forth.

"Dodge!!!" Kenton yelled, Ambipom quickly cartwheeling out of the way of the Vine Whips, simultaneously closing a bit of the distance between him and the Skiddo.  "Nice!  Get a Low Kick in there!"

While Ambipom got close enough to Low Kick the Skiddo, the grass-type leapt out of the way in the nick of time.  It slide on the gravel-covered ground instead of landing solidly, though, and that gave Ambipom the opportunity to succeed in kicking out one of the Skiddo's legs.

A single Vine Whip in response sent Ambipom flying, though, and not in the controlled flip Ambiopom usually did when he soared through the air, making Kenton flinch in sympathetic pain.  That looked bad...

...and that looks worse! the trainer thought as he saw Skiddo climb back to its feet and start glowing a bit.  At first Kenton was worried it would be a Solarbeam, Energy Ball, or Giga Drain, but nothing seemed to spew to or from the grass-type; instead, the glowing faded without my fuss, though the Skiddo seemed more energized once the light was gone.  Damn, was that a Synthesis?  That could mean this could go on and on... Ambipom doesn't have that much time.

"Use Last Resort!"